I have made a late decision to go to Spain and look for teaching work this September with my partner. Ideally, we'd go at the beginning of the month but we need to give notice on our apartment. I don't think we'll make it over until around the 12th at the very earliest. Is this too late or is it OK? Obviously it's less than ideal - we need time to settle in and find somewhere to live, but we don't have much choice, really. We were planning to stay where we are but everything fell through so we've decided to take the plunge and try Spain.

Another thing - where is the best place to look for accommodation? We're looking for a shared room in a house or apt. We'd prefer to stay together as a couple but understand that a lot of people don't want to live with couples. Two separate shares would be OK. We've looked at Loquo - is there another site we've missed? Thanks for any help you can offer!

No the 12th of September is fine, in fact it's probably the ideal time to look. I arrived on the 9th of September last year, having sent out CVs a week earlier and it wasn't until after the 20th of September that most of the offers started rolling in. What city are you going to?

They should all give you a contract and that will include social security and hence health insurance. I wouldn't go down the autonomo route in your first year. I don't know yet if we're moving back but either way closer to the time send me a PM and I can give you an idea of what places to contact and what ones to avoid.